The signs confirm our resurrection.

 

Sermon for Easter 2, April 12, 2026

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence.  Amen.

Matthew 12:38-41  ³⁸Then some of the experts in the law and Pharisees replied, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”  ³⁹But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation wishes for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  ⁴⁰For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  ⁴¹The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah.  But one even greater than Jonah is here. (EHV)

1 Corinthians 15:3-8  ³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.  ⁶After that he appeared to over five hundred brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.  ⁷Then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles.  ⁸Last of all, he appeared also to me, the stillborn child, so to speak. (EHV)

The signs confirm our resurrection.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            In the Apostle’s Creed, we confess our sure confidence that on the third day He [Christ] rose again from the dead.  The question for us this morning, I suppose, is why does this matter?  Why do we make this bold confession?  And what difference does it make in our lives or our future lives?  Why it matters is explained to us in this combination from Matthew’s Gospel and Paul’s letter to the Corinthian congregation.  In these texts, we learn that The signs confirm our resurrection.

Today, our world is filled with people who demand proof, or one could say signs, for what we believe.  How do we know Jesus lived?  How can we be so certain about the promises He made?  Nearly every aspect of the Christian faith is being challenged continually.  Our children are under special attack which gets more brutal the higher up in their educations they go.  The more supposedly learned their teachers are the more likely they are to challenge our beliefs.  So, where will we stand?

The experts of Jesus’ day, likewise, demanded signs from Him even after witnessing Him perform countless miracles firsthand.  The truth remains constant that they didn’t need signs because Jesus had failed to show them the reality.  Rather, they demanded signs solely because their preconceived notions blinded them to the obvious truth.  Therefore, Jesus refused to do more miracles just to impress a crowd of enemies.  Instead, Jesus promised a sign that would silence all objections.

Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees, “An evil and adulterous generation wishes for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”  This was neither the first nor the last prophecy concerning Jesus’ death and resurrection.  The first prophecy goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, then throughout the Old Testament scriptures, God gave prophecy after prophecy concerning the Savior and Messiah He promised to send.  All of those ancient prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus.

Now, modern scholars might do their best to imagine that all of that was just coincidence.  However, there is no way to dismiss the Son of God prophesying His own death and resurrection, then following through with the promised result.  Again, many modernists try to dismiss even the gospel accounts as just fine storytelling.  However, Jesus provided many eyewitnesses to testify to everything He did and said.  More than that, Paul points out that there were over five hundred people who witnessed Jesus alive and well, all at one time, after His crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.  Consequently, our faith is not set on wishful thinking, but on the firm evidence that Jesus did rise from the dead just as He had promised.

Furthermore, when Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians perhaps fifteen years after Jesus’ resurrection, most of those people who had seen Jesus resurrected from the grave were still alive and available to confirm what he was reporting.  There also are numerous secular testimonies to the eyewitness reports that spread throughout the land.  In addition, those disciples, who had cowered in fear after Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, spent the rest of their lives proclaiming the Good News of all Jesus has done for us, and they did so while under constant pressure from their enemies and the authorities of the state who tried to silence them.  Many even suffered horrible torture and death rather than change their report.  If Jesus’ resurrection had been some concocted story, no disciple would have withstood so much, yet to a person they all did and more.  Thus, all The signs confirm our resurrection.

The Lord also provided another testimony and sign so that you and I and the whole world would know of the salvation Jesus won for us.  The man, Saul, grew up in the Pharisaical tradition and became a rabid persecutor of the early Christians.  Saul had devoted his life to eradicating the Christian faith and Christians too.  That’s why Paul described himself as one like a stillborn child.  Though dead in sin, Saul was renewed to life when the risen Savior met him on the road to Damascus and called for him to completely change his understanding and believe in Jesus.  Though he had been a hater and persecutor of Christ and Jesus’ followers, Saul was renamed, Paul, and sent to proclaim to the nations what Jesus has done for us all.

Therefore, while Paul was not an eyewitness to Jesus’ life in the traditional sense, Paul told the Corinthians, “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.”  Why was this of first importance?  Because this Good News had changed Paul’s life completely.  Of course, in the eyes of the world, this led to great suffering and hardship for Paul.  In fact, the Lord said, “Indeed, I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:16)  Still, this Good News gave Paul the peace with God he had desired.

The former persecutor certainly did suffer in this world because of Jesus’ name.  Still, Paul became one of the greatest proclaimers of the Gospel.  His letters to the various congregations still instruct us today.  At the same time, Paul endured all those torments willingly, because he knew that Christian believers will always be under attack in this world.  Then, because of the love Jesus had showed him in delivering Paul from the everlasting condemnation he deserved for his former ways into life that never ends, Paul would spend his days telling others about the love Jesus lived for the whole world, a love that put God’s Son on a cross and into a grave—a love that took away the sins of the world and made believers righteous in God’s eyes.

So, why does this all matter and what difference does it make in our lives?  The fulfillment of those prophecies makes us confident that God had a plan to save sinners just as the Scriptures testify.  The fact that Jesus was arrested, tried, crucified, buried, then raised from the dead just as He had prophesied, is proof certain that Jesus really is God’s Son and the promised Redeemer and Savior. 

Anyone who denies this truth is not doing so because he lacks evidence, but because he refuses to see the signs.  Anyone who argues against Jesus being raised from the dead to live again is denying what hundreds of eyewitnesses clearly saw over a period of forty days.  Those eyewitnesses staked their lives on what they had seen and heard, and those early believers were willing to endure even extreme torture and death rather than recant their testimony.  Thus, The signs confirm our resurrection.

Therefore, we can stand firmly on what the Bible teaches knowing that with Jesus at our side, we have the victory over death and the devil.  We can trust the promise of forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, even if forced to stand in that truth all alone.  Right along with those early Christians, with Paul and the other apostles who gave their lives holding to their faith in Jesus, we can stand with even more confidence than believers of old such as the three men in the fiery furnace who declared boldly to their king, “Since our God, whom we serve, does exist, he is able to save us from the blazing fiery furnace.  So, he may save us from your hand, Your Majesty.  But if he does not, you should know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods.” (Daniel 3:17-18)

Since we have such boldness in this life, what does it mean for our future?  It means that Christ’s resurrection from the grave, on the exact day He promised to rise, confirms for us that all His promises are true.  All the words of the Bible are confirmed in Jesus’ resurrection.  Thus, we can go to our graves knowing that this life is not the end.  We too will rise just as the Scriptures say.  Therefore, hear what Jesus promised His friends, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.  If it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am.” (John 14:2-3) 

When Martha was grieving the loss of her brother, Jesus comforted her, saying, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies.  And whoever lives and believes in me will never perish.” (John 11:25-26)  Jesus then raised her brother, Lazarus, from the dead as another sign that we too will be raised to live forever with Him in heaven. 

Likewise, thousands of years ago, Job testified concerning His faith in God’s promises, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the end of time he will stand over the dust.  Then, even after my skin has been destroyed, nevertheless, in my own flesh I will see God.  I myself will see him.  My own eyes will see him, and not as a stranger.” (Job 19:25-27)

St. Paul also, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us many assurances of what Jesus’ resurrection has in store for us.  He wrote, “The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)  And to the Philippians he wrote, “Our citizenship is in heaven.  We are eagerly waiting for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.  By the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, he will transform our humble bodies to be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

In the Revelation of our Lord Jesus to St. John, the apostle testifies that he heard a voice from the throne of heaven proclaiming with joy, “Look!  God’s dwelling is with people.  He will dwell with them, and they will be his people.  God himself will be with them, and he will be their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, because the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

Thus, dear friends, what does Jesus’ resurrection mean for our future?  It means that we can go forth in this world with boldness and confidence in His loving care, because with His resurrection, Jesus confirmed His eternal victory over sin, death, and the devil.  Because, The signs confirm our resurrection, we can be sure that even our death is not the end, for we will live forever with the Lord in heaven.  Amen.

May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, both soul and body, be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.  Amen.

 

God’s Strong-Man takes possession of His people.

 

Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  By his great mercy he gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  Amen.

Luke 11:21-22  ²¹“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.  ²²But when someone stronger attacks him and defeats him, he takes away that man’s full armor, in which he had trusted, and divides up his plunder.” (EHV)

1 Peter 3:18-19  Christ also suffered once for sins in our place, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.  He was put to death in flesh but was made alive in spirit, ¹⁹in which he also went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison. (EHV)

God’s Strong-Man takes possession of His people.

Dear beloved of the living Lord,

            Jesus descended into hell.  That’s a shocking way to begin Easter morning, isn’t it?  Many people guess that Jesus descended into hell to suffer after He died on the cross that first Good Friday.  However, it was while He was on the cross that Jesus suffered the awful torment of hell when His Father separated Himself from Jesus.  That separation from God is truly the worst punishment of hell, and Jesus experienced that brutal isolation so that you and I won’t ever have to be without God’s love.  So, why do we confess that Jesus descended into hell early on Easter morning?

Our two texts this morning are among several that speak about Jesus’ course of action in His resurrection from the dead.  At some point Easter morning, before He revealed Himself alive and risen from the grave, Jesus descended into hell.  Peter reported that Jesus “was made alive in spirit, in which he also went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison.”  What is it that Jesus needed to announce?  For that answer, we return to Jesus’ mysterious prophecy reported in Luke’s Gospel.

One time, when Jesus had cast out a demon, His enemies said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” (Luke 11:15)  In retrospect, their accusation was serious blasphemy, but Jesus replied to their lie by foretelling how His victory over Satan and death would conclude.  Jesus responded to their accusation with this parable: “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.  But when someone stronger attacks him and defeats him, he takes away that man’s full armor, in which he had trusted, and divides up his plunder.”

Throughout most of history, the devil seemed to be the strong man in the world.  With treacherous lies, he deceived Adam and Eve into abandoning holiness for the knowledge of evil.  Ever after, Satan’s temptations and lies kept mankind separated from God.  The covetousness, jealousy, and hatred the devil induces causes unlimited suffering and sorrow in the world.  Still today, we see vast numbers of people deceived into believing that wealth can be stolen for society’s welfare.  The devil still pits husbands and wives against each other, and children against their parents.  Nations are continually caught up in power struggles and the same can be said about politicians in almost every place, and no matter how much wealth or power people possess, they always seem to need a little more.

You and I were not spared of this wickedness.  We, too, have been selfish, lustful, covetous, and sometimes deceitful.  We too have often been misled by feelings rather than hold to God’s Word with unwavering confidence.  We too were caught in the slavery to sin and death.  Yet, there is One who was always able to resist those weakness and faults.  Jesus was the only perfect Man ever to live, and the world turned against that humble, self-sacrificing soul.

Of course, God the Father knew that would happen.  Jesus knew it too.  Indeed, that is why Jesus entered our world, so that even in the midst of this world’s soul-destroying corruption, He could live that perfectly holy life necessary to satisfy the law.  Then, having dwelled here in perfect God-pleasing holiness, Jesus gave His life into death to satisfy the law’s demand for justice.  Through all of this, the devil schemed and tempted and persuaded people just as God knew that liar would. 

For a being who wanted to wrest God’s kingdom from Him, the devil really isn’t that smart.  Even after God gave the world clear prophetic messages of all He planned for His Son, the devil never caught on that God was weaving the deceiver’s demise.  Thus, in the end, Satan probably did gloat in foolish glee when God’s Son was nailed to the cursed tree.  Yet, as the Gospel so clearly teaches, the devil wasn’t winning.  Rather, through the death of His Son, God was taking back the wealth of the world by paying the ransom to set His people free.

Now, ordinarily, we think of a ransom being paid to the kidnapper.  But remember what the prophet Nahum reported, “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God.” (Nahum 1:2)  St. Paul later wrote, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)  Even more so for Jesus; Jesus didn’t enter our world to do battle with Roman authority or even those Jewish leaders who so despised God’s Son.  Instead, Jesus came to battle our old evil foe, and the payment Jesus made didn’t go into the devil’s treasury.  Instead, Jesus paid with His blood and His life to satisfy the justice His Father demanded for our sins.  Satan gets nothing but eternal loss.

Though the devil speaks only lies, Jesus operates solely with perfect truth.  While Satan sought the power of God, Jesus laid aside His glory and “emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant.  When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8)  Jesus told the crowds that followed Him, “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.  I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again.” (John 10:17-18) 

It is in His humility and sacrifice that Jesus disarmed our kidnapper.  Caught completely unaware (or perhaps not), the devil had no ability or strength to defeat Jesus.  There was no accusation of sin that would apply to Jesus.  There was no desire or distrust that the devil could chip away at to deceive Jesus into turning against His Father’s will.  Therefore, holy and righteous and with God’s full stamp of approval, Jesus took the fight to the devil and crushed that serpent’s head.

So, why did Jesus descend to hell alive that Easter morning?  Restored to life, Jesus descended into hell to announce His victory over Satan with authority and power so that the devil has no more hold over any of God’s people.  The devil and his wicked horde will never again be able to accuse God’s children of sin.  In his great triumph hymn, Martin Luther proclaimed, “This world’s prince may still, scowl fierce as he will, he can harm us none, he’s judged; the deed is done; one little word can fell him.”  When Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples proclaiming His Gospel message of forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ, they returned rejoicing for the power of His Word, and Jesus told them, “I was watching Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18)

Through treachery and deception, the serpent had turned God’s people against their Creator.  Enslaved by the lies and temptations, people the world over had no resistance to the devil’s evil.  But now, a stronger Man has taken on the kidnapper and thrown off the chains that kept us bound in the dark cave of the sinful nature.  Jesus told His disciples, “I am the Light of the World.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

As the Lord led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He rescued His people from the wicked horde by leading them to safety through the waters of the sea.  This too is a picture of how Jesus has rescued us through the waters of Baptism.  With the water and the Word of our Lord in Baptism, we are led cleansed and free into the kingdom of peace and joy that is God’s everlasting kingdom. 

Is there still trouble in our lives and temptations around us?  Certainly.  For as long as this world lasts, those things will be troubling mankind because of the curse of sin.  However, because God’s Strong-Man takes possession of His people, we are never in this battle alone.  Our Champion continues to fight for us with the power of His Word and His intercession with our Father in heaven.  No more can the devil accuse us before God.  Nor do we ever have to fight that liar alone, for Jesus promises “Surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)  Then through His psalmist, our Redeemer assures us, “If you make the Most High your shelter, evil will not overtake you.  Disaster will not come near your tent.  Because he will give a command to his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:9-11)

Dear friends, whenever you confess your faith in the words of the Apostle’s Creed, or whenever you might feel weak or worried, remember that through His life, death, descent into hell, and resurrection from the grave, Jesus, God’s Strong-Man, took possession of His people.  Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Our Lord; was crucified, died, and was buried.

 

Sermon for Good Friday, April 3, 2026

Grace and mercy to you from the One Who was despised and rejected by men, a man who knew grief, who was well acquainted with suffering.  Amen.

John 19:33-42  ³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.  ³⁴Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear.  Immediately blood and water came out.  ³⁵The one who saw it has testified, and his testimony is true.  He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.  ³⁶Indeed, these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, “Not one of his bones will be broken.”  ³⁷Again another Scripture says, “They will look at the one they pierced.”  ³⁸After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him remove Jesus’ body.  When Pilate gave him permission, he came and took Jesus’ body away.  ³⁹Nicodemus, who earlier had come to Jesus at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-two pounds.  ⁴⁰They took Jesus’ body and bound it with linen strips along with the spices, in accord with Jewish burial customs.  ⁴¹There was a garden at the place where Jesus was crucified.  And in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid.  ⁴²So they laid Jesus there, because it was the Jewish Preparation Day, and the tomb was near. (EHV)

Our Lord; was crucified, died, and was buried. 

            Jesus once told His enemies, “How can someone enter a strong man’s house and take his goods, unless he first ties up the strong man?  Only then can he plunder his house.” (Matthew 12:29)  As we remember Jesus’ suffering and death, it certainly appears that a strong thief bound Jesus and made a mockery of that dear Son of God.  To the world, it looked like sin, death, and the devil had finally accomplished the impossible and destroyed the Messiah. 

Yet, as most people will admit, looks can be, and often are, deceiving.  Therefore, while the Jewish leadership cautiously began to celebrate Jesus’ death, and Pontious Pilate assumed he had squashed a rebellion, the reality was far different.  Indeed, Pilate couldn’t put down a rebellion because the only rebellion that put Jesus on that cross was the devil’s rebellion against God that began in the Garden of Eden.  In addition, while the Jews plotted to prove that Jesus was truly dead (which is something we all readily admit), the death of God’s Son wasn’t the end of the story.  Rather, it was exactly why Jesus came into the world.

The devil had failed to get Jesus to sin.  Satan had failed to persuade Jesus to turn aside from His goal of bearing our sins unto death.  We can even say the devil failed to trick his allies into upending God’s plan, for God’s plan all along was that Christ’s real victory would come only when Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord; … was crucified, died, and was buried.

When Jesus was nailed to that cross, we can imagine the devil celebrating a potential conquest, but for Satan, this crucifixion was a trap.  The devil along with his unbelieving allies in the world considered Jesus the enemy they wanted to destroy.  However, it is in Jesus’ death that Satan’s power is forever crushed.  The writer to the Hebrews testifies, “Therefore, since the children share flesh and blood, he also shared the same flesh and blood, so that through death he could destroy the one who had the power of death (that is, the Devil) and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)  Thus, when we see Jesus on the cross, it is neither a tragedy nor defeat, but the culmination of God’s rescue plan that set us free from the devil’s deceptions. 

Throughout Jesus’ approximately thirty-three years on earth, He was living as a Man for you and me.  Throughout those years, Jesus resisted all temptation, obeyed every law, did perfectly whatever His Father in heaven willed, and never once failed to do what is right and good.  That perfection was lived so that you and I could be credited with righteousness, a righteousness not of our own but that which Jesus lived for us.  Certainly, the devil tried his best to turn this effort of our Savior aside.  However, unlike the first Adam in the Garden of Eden, the second Adam would not be denied in doing the will of His Father in heaven.

Therefore, innocent of all sin, Jesus was crucified not for His own guilt, but for ours.  Consequently, while the devil and the world mocked and jeered God’s Son, Jesus’ death was paying for our sin and crushing any ability or right the devil had to accuse us of sin.  Forever after, the devil is silenced before God.  In the Garden, God had promised the Deceiver, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.  He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)  When Jesus declared, “It is finished,” God’s promise was now fulfilled.  Yes, Jesus was wounded for our transgressions, but the devil lost the war in his rebellion against our Creator.

In his great Easter hymn, Paul Gerhardt wrote, “The foe in triumph shouted when Christ lay in the tomb; but, lo, he now is routed, his boast is turned to gloom.”  It is possible that when Jesus was laid to rest in the tomb, the devil may not yet have admitted what Jesus had accomplished in death, but by His death, Jesus took away our condemnation.  Therefore, the devil can no longer control those Jesus has won to His Father’s kingdom by faith.  Satan can no longer accuse anyone before God.  St. Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to write:

Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses.  God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands.  This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross.  After disarming the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them by triumphing over them in Christ. (Colossians 2:13-15)

The words of the prophet Isaiah assure us that Jesus’ victory over sin, Satan, and death was never in doubt.  Seven hundred years before this crucifixion, Isaiah wrote: “The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)  And, “Because you made his life a guilt offering, he will see offspring.  He will prolong his days, and the Lord’s gracious plan will succeed in his hand.  After his soul experiences anguish, he will see the light of life.  He will provide satisfaction.  Through their knowledge of him, my just servant will justify the many, for he himself carried their guilt.” (Isaiah 53:10-11)

Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord; … was crucified, died, and was buried.  What does this mean for you and me today?  It means that no devil, or any other being, can ever again accuse God’s children of sin.  It means that because this isn’t the end of the salvation plan but the height of Jesus’ conquest of God’s enemies, therefore, you and I will not die but live.  Though our bodies may likewise have to be laid down in the grave, like Jesus, our Easter resurrection will also soon be at hand, for though Jesus truly died, He yet lives and reigns from His Father’s side in the throne room of heaven.  Thus, by His death and resurrection, Jesus has turned our death into the entrance to Paradise.  You see, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For in Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)

So, who is Jesus?  The explanation of the Second Article of the Apostle’s Creed reminds us: “He is my Lord, Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.”  In the ultimate victory over evil, to be proclaimed with power on the third day, Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord; … was crucified, died, and was buried.  Amen.

Glory be to God alone, He himself carried the sin of many, and he intercedes for the rebels.  Amen.

Christ gives His body and blood for you.

 

Sermon for Maundy Thursday, April 2, 2026

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Matthew 26:26-29  ²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples.  He said, “Take, eat, this is my body.”  ²⁷Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it all of you, ²⁸for this is my blood of the new testament, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  ²⁹I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. (EHV)

Christ gives His body and blood for you.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,

            We have been preparing for this night for the past six weeks, but what have we been doing to prepare?  To be honest, perhaps not much.  Some may have given up some treat or activity for Lent.  Many of us have attended midweek services in which we heard about the last few days and hours of Jesus’ passion.  On the other hand, I pray that you have spent these six weeks of Lenten preparation considering your guilt and need for a Savior, and therefore, have spent these six weeks, as we should always, in repentance so that you are ready to receive the forgiveness of our Lord.

For about three years, Jesus had been preparing His disciples for this night, preaching the Good News of the Messiah entering our world, healing the sick, performing miracle after miracle that showed His divine power, calling sinners to repentance, and announcing in advance what He was prepared to do as Christ gives His body and blood for you.

As part of our ongoing review of our catechism, this evening we look at the list of questions Luther recommended before partaking of the body and blood of God’s Son.  I encourage you to open your hymnal now to that list on pages 38-39.  Luther gave us 20 questions to consider as we prepare for the Lord’s Supper.  Most likely, when you were in confirmation class, your pastor encouraged you to use this list every time you were coming to the altar of our Lord for this meal.  If you are like me, however, you’ve likely grown a bit lackadaisical about doing that review.  This evening, permit me to review with you just the first nine questions, all very short, and I pray these are your answers:

1.    Do you believe you are a sinner?  Yes, I believe it; I am a sinner.

2.    How do you know this?  From the Ten Commandments, which I have not kept.

3.    Are you sorry for your sins?  Yes, I am sorry that I have sinned against God.

4.    What have you deserved from God by your sins?  His wrath and displeasure, temporal death and eternal damnation. (Romans 6:21 & 23)

5.    Do you also hope to be saved?  Yes, such is my hope.

6.    In whom, then, do you trust?  In my dear Lord Jesus Christ.

7.    Who is Christ?  The Son of God, true God and man.

8.    How many Gods are there?  Only one; but there are three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

9.    What, then, has Christ done for you that you trust in Him?  He died for me and shed His blood for me on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.

The questions that follow on Luther’s list are not less important, and I encourage you to give them your attention going forward, but for tonight, this is the highlight I want to focus on, that Christ gives His body and blood for you.

As we reviewed these questions, what did we offer to God to induce Him to sacrifice His Son so that we might have forgiveness and life?  The true answer is that we did nothing, except the sin that Jesus died to pay for.  From the very beginning, God rightly commanded our obedience, and almost from the very beginning mankind has been sinning against our Creator and God.  You and I were no different.  King David recognized that from the moment of conception we are inclined to sin.  In fact, David understood that because our first parents rebelled against God, their sin-infected nature has been passed down to each and every one of us, with the result that as we are formed in our mothers’ wombs, we have no trust in God or what He has done for us.

In the confession of sin inserted in this list of questions, we said we are sorry for our sins, but being sorry doesn’t pay the price our guilt required.  The law demands perfection, and justice demands death for sin.  As sinners, we deserved God’s wrath and everlasting exile in the punishment of hell.  At the same time, what kind of God would subject His children to such a fate?  Well, the answer to that question is a God who is both perfectly holy and perfectly just.  His holiness demands that we must be righteous and without any sin to be in a relationship with Him.  God’s justice requires that the consequence of breaking the law must be carried out.  There can be no exceptions, or God would be neither holy nor just.

Sometimes, people ask, why does God allow so much death in our world?  In truth, it is because of sin that death comes to all people, and whether that is when they are young or old, it is not because God is indifferent.  Rather, God wants to save us from the curse of sin.  Now, you and I couldn’t purchase release from the death sentence we deserve.  We owed that debt to God for our guilt.  Yet, the only way we could pay the debt would be to spend eternity in hell’s prison. 

Still, our God desired a relationship with mankind.  This was God’s whole purpose in creating this world.  And, as the apostle declared, “God is love.” (1 John 4:16)  Therefore, because our Lord Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love, He put Himself in our place on that cross.  God sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice that allows Him to punish our guilt at the same time that He declares us justly innocent of all charges.

Now, since the time God rescued Israel out of Egypt, He had commanded the sacrifice of a lamb in remembrance of His plan of salvation.  The night of the last plague on Egypt, God commanded that the blood of the lamb be painted on the doorposts and lintels of Israel so that as He was wreaking vengeance on Egypt for rejecting Him, the Lord would pass over those houses, and the people inside were spared from death.  God commanded that Passover sacrifice be repeated annually until the final sacrifice it foreshadowed would be accomplished.  God wanted all people to know and remember that the sacrifice of His Lamb would finally set them free from slavery and death.

Therefore, it is in this His last Passover celebration that Jesus gives us a new covenant.  The old covenant painted a picture of what Jesus was doing for us, but now, the real event was at hand.  Thus, “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples.  He said, ‘Take, eat, this is my body.’  Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it all of you, for this is my blood of the new testament, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”  Just as those sacrificial lambs fed the people of Israel repeatedly for all those many years, so now, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, Jesus gives us His own body and blood: His body to nourish our souls for eternity; His blood to paint the doorposts of our hearts marking us as His own chosen people.

In the corrupted reasoning of natural man, the argument is often made that Jesus couldn’t really give us His body and blood for all these years.  Many various reasons are imagined.  Yet, being true God as well as true Man, our Lord does exactly as He promised.  His very blood is in, with, and under the wine; His true flesh is in, with, and under the bread Jesus hands to us at His table.  How can this be?  That we must leave up to our Lord through whom God created the heavens and the earth.  We don’t need to know the how, only what Jesus does, and what Jesus does is promise that in this eating and drinking, we receive again the forgiveness of all our sins.  He promises that as we partake of this holy meal, we again receive peace with His Father in heaven.

So we now know the benefit that is ours through the amazing gift of Jesus’ body and blood given and shed for our sins.  Yet, for whom is it given?  Just those twelve disciples?  Just the Jews descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?  Not hardly, for Jesus boldly proclaimed, “This is my blood of the new testament, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  Therefore, we can be confident that if we are sinners, Jesus offers His blood for us.  If we believe in Jesus as Savior and Redeemed, this body and blood is intended for you and me.  If we repent our sins, this is the remedy for our guilt.  If we are under the curse of sin, but God has brought us into His kingdom of grace through Baptism, and if we have been properly instructed in the Christian faith, this holy meal is medicine and food for eternal salvation.

There is one other question in Luther’s list that I want to mention.  There are times when people don’t think they need the Lord’s Supper.  Sometimes, they feel little or no guilt.  Others occasionally feel so guilty they assume they are unworthy of God’s grace (which, of course, is always true for all people).  Therefore, Luther gives an answer for anyone who doesn’t feel the need or desire to partake of this forgiveness and life.  Question 20 asks, “But what shall a person do if he is not aware of such trouble and feels no hunger and thirst for the Sacrament?” 

To such a person no better advice can be given than that, in the first place, he put his hand into his bosom, and feel whether he still have flesh and blood, and that he by all means believe what the Scriptures say of it in Galatians 5 and Romans 7.  Secondly, that he look around to see whether he is still in the world, and keep in mind that there will be no lack of sin and trouble, as the Scriptures say in John 15 and 16; 1 John 2 and 5.  Thirdly, he will certainly have the devil also about him, who with his lying and murdering day and night will let him have no peace within or without, as the Scriptures picture him in John 8 and 16; 1 Peter 5; Ephesians 6; 2 Timothy 2.

In other words, dear friends, if you are still living in the flesh and blood and believe the truths and promises of the Holy Scriptures, Jesus has the cure for all your sins and guilt, and He offers it to you freely without cost or any service required on your part.  The Son of God, your Savior, has loved you so much that He willingly carried your sins into suffering, shame, death, and hell, so that you can be set free from all guilt and condemnation, so that you might enjoy forgiveness of all sin and life everlasting in heaven.  Now, may all those who walk in fellowship with Jesus and this congregation come forward to receive this great gift of forgiveness and peace as Christ gives His body and blood to you.  Amen.

Now may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to believe, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

In equal attitude, confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

 

Sermon for Lent 6, Palm Sunday, April 29, 2026

Mercy and peace to all of you who are in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Philippians 2:5-11  ⁵Indeed, let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.  ⁶Though he was by nature God, he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, ⁷but he emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant.  When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man, ⁸he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.  ⁹Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (EHV)

In equal attitude, confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.  Who could have imagined that this Jesus, riding into Jerusalem to cheers of praise and vast crowds shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Hosanna in the highest!”, would just a few days later suffer this great indignity which we confess in the Apostles’ Creed?  Who could have imagined that these same cheering people would soon cry out “Crucify Him!”

Yet, if we are being truly honest with ourselves and before God, we would have to see ourselves in that crowd, because we all have been guilty of wanting God to do things for us that maybe don’t align with His plan.  We all have at times questioned whether God really knows what He is doing in this world.  Who among us could claim that we have never had a selfish thought or wished for something to be different than it actually is?  How many of us haven’t wanted life to be a little easier for ourselves, and maybe even harder for some who have offended us in some way?

Paul wrote, “Indeed, let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”  To understand this sentence, we really should refer back to Paul’s words immediately preceding it: “Let each of you look carefully not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4)  Just as Jesus told His disciples, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)  Thus, the command of the Holy Spirit, here, is that we live in the same unselfish attitude that drove our Savior, and if we do this faithfully, we will In equal attitude, confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

If we compare the scene on Palm Sunday to any political campaign in our times, how many candidates for office would enter a town to such cheers and celebration but be thinking only of those people who need his service?  I suspect that the answer could only be none.  Every person who has ever lived has been infected with the desire for self-promotion, self-enrichment, or at least, for self-preservation.

Indeed, the natural mind cannot comprehend a Man like Jesus.  The prophet, Isaiah, confessed, “From ancient times no one has heard.  No ear has understood.  No eye has seen any god except you, who goes into action for the one who waits for him.” (Isaiah 64:4)  There is only One like Jesus, being both true God as well as true Man.  There is only One Man who walked this earth only so that you and I might be forgiven of all sin and live rather than suffer eternal punishment in hell.  There is truly only one Man who lived His complete life doing perfectly holy things only so that we could be counted righteous before God.  I challenge anyone to name any other person like Jesus.  Yet, that is our instruction, also, so what must we do?

Rather than immediately answer my question, consider how Paul continued.  Speaking about Jesus, he wrote: Though he was by nature God, he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, but he emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant.  When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”  In reality, Jesus is God from all eternity, begotten of the Father and the source and conduit of all creation.  Jesus truly owns the universe and everything in it, even those people who mock and jeer Him. 

By right, Jesus could do as He wished with the world.  In fact, God sent the prophet, Jeremiah, to observe a potter making his clay pots and when the pot didn’t turn out the way he wished, the potter would mash the clay and start over making something new.  Our Lord could have done that with the world and everything in it after sin corrupted all things.  However, God chose instead to make us new through His Son.  Therefore, Jesus made Himself equal to us in every way except without sin.  At the same time, not content with becoming like us, “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  Counted as sin to God in our place, Jesus was delivered to the punishment and death we all deserved.

Now, taking the attitude of Christ doesn’t mean that we all have to suffer and die for the sins of others.  Jesus’ sacrifice was a once and done, sufficient for all time and all people, sacrifice.  The writer to the Hebrews said, “By this will, we have been sanctified once and for all, through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ.” (Hebrews 10:10)  It was God’s will that his Son would bear the cost for the sins of mankind.  It was not disgust for His Son that moved God, but rather love for us who are unlovable that motivated the Father and Son to make this great exchange of sin for righteousness.  At no cost to any of us, God transferred our guilt to Jesus and Jesus’ righteousness to those who believe in Him.

There is a bit more to know here.  In consideration of what Jesus has done for us, “Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  This is God’s glory—His mercy granted to us through the love and sacrifice of His Son.  And in the end, every knee will bow in humble submission before Christ.  Those who have loved and believed in Jesus will bow before Him in gratitude and praise for eternal salvation granted freely through the blood of Jesus. 

On the other hand, those who have not believed in Jesus will finally know the truth.  They will never again be able to reject Jesus as God and Lord, for when St. John received a vision directly from Jesus after His ascension to heaven, he reported “Look, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him.” (Revelation 1:7)  Jesus, Himself, quoted the prophet, Hosea, to warn, “Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’” (Luke 23:30) 

Judgment Day for the unbeliever will be a horrible experience leading to an eternal separation from God in the place prepared for the devil and his angels.  There will never be an escape from that eternal prison, nor any slight relief from the everlasting torment of separation from God’s kindness, as well as finally knowing that Jesus died even for those who rejected Him, but refusal to believe in Him cost them everything good.

So where does that leave us?  Our text convinces us that we should In equal attitude, confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  That is our work as Christian believers, to live our lives in service to our neighbor by setting aside selfish desires in order to help others hear the Good News of all Jesus has done for us.  That means that we will bring up our children “in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)  It means that our concern will not be just for material gains but for what we can do to help our neighbor both in earthly things but especially in the hearing of the Gospel. 

Like the Good Samaritan, this unselfish attitude displayed on our behalf by our Savior will motivate hearts to be willing to help even when danger or inconvenience might militate against a willing spirit.  In fact, in many ways, it is not our decision or the strength of our faith that will accomplish the good works, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Dear friends, throughout the various epistles, there is much instruction about how we should live in the Christian faith, and it can feel like we often fall short of what we should be doing.  When it comes down to the truth, we know and confess that nothing good has its source in us.  It is the Father’s love that motivates us the same way it motivated Jesus to give Himself for the sinners of the world. 

We know and confess that it is by grace that the Word of God has reached our ears, and the waters of Baptism have flowed over us and cleansed our souls of all guilt.  We confess and know that it is Jesus’ love that flows through those the Spirit has claimed as children of God.  We, likewise, know and confess that our Lord Jesus has lived for us the perfect righteousness that only He can give.  We know and confess that in Jesus we have peace and rest for our souls so that we don’t have to merit the righteousness of God, for it is God’s gift to those under the care of His Son.

At the same time, knowing what Jesus has done for us, what joy is ours that we may devote our lives to living for Him, as the prophet exclaimed, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of a herald, who proclaims peace and preaches good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God is king!’” (Isaiah 52:7)  When we examine this text from the letter to the Philippians, what it comes down to is love, the unselfish kind of love that puts the needs of others ahead of our own.  The apostle, John, wrote, “This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)  Therefore, to friend and foe alike, it is in the love of God for us that we In equal attitude, confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Amen.

May the LORD our God be with us, just as he was with our fathers.  May he never leave us or abandon us.  May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways.  Amen.